Thanks for Nothing

I’ve been fighting the same headache for over a week. After trying all the meds I’m allowed, home remedies, 2 prescription meds, and a trip to my OB, nothing was working. On the advice of my OB, my mom took me kicking and screaming to the ER on Saturday. My OB had told me that since not even the prescription meds were helping, the next step was to get a shot of some sort of pain killer at the hospital. Fine. I give in.

When I originally called Labor and Delivery to let them know my situation they told me to come in through the ER, and they would send me up there after getting registered. That didn’t happen. The ER said since I was there for a “non-pregnancy related issue” I was to stay down in the ER and get treated there. Ok, fine. The doctor that came in had just opened my chart while he walked in the room. He starts by scolding me. “You have had headaches all your life, and NEVER got them checked out?!” Sorry doctor-man, not all of us have the luxury of health insurance. I say this to him, in a nicer way of course, and also say that if it was just ME I was worried about, I would just suck-it-up, but all of this pain can’t be good for my baby. To this he says “oh your pregnant?”… You are kidding me right?

He then goes on to say how it is “inconvenient” that I am pregnant because he needs to do a CAT scan (or maybe it was a CT scan, I can’t remember), and that there is no way of shielding my FETUS from the radiation. He said they can shield my abdomen but that doesn’t guarantee anything. Ok… NO! So I refuse the scan, and he gets an attitude. He starts rattling off some meds he can try, but the way he is saying them, he is more trying to cover his ass incase something goes wrong rather than telling me the actual risks.

He leaves the room, and I start crying hysterically. I felt bad enough going to the hospital for “just a headache”, and now he has me thinking anything I do is going to hurt my baby. My mom gets on the phone with Labor and Delivery to see what we can do about getting a doctor that isn’t a total moron. They say to call them to clear each medication before its given to make sure its safe.

A nurse comes in to start me on oxygen, an IV of fluids, and says she is also putting in an anti-nausea med Reglan, which she cleared with the OBGYN. I tell her I’m NOT nauseous, to which she says “maybe the dr is giving it for the migraine then.” Hey, what do I know? Not even 2 minutes after the IV is in, I get an INTENSE hot-flash, become covered in sweat, and want to rip my skin off. I was confused and disoriented and wanted to get the hell out of there ASAP. A few minutes after that I start shaking uncontrollably, like a naked guy in a snow storm. A while later a different nurse comes in, and I ask if the shakes are normal. “No, its just fluids. Maybe you are just stressed.” is all I get before she leaves.

An hour later the moron doctor comes back in to see if I’m better. “NO!” I tell him that I just want to get the hell out of there ASAP. He says the nurse will be in to give me a shot of steroids as a last option, and take my IV out. A half out later we are finally out the door, and I’ve never felt worse. Poked, and yelled at, and freaked out that I was hurting my baby. I was still shaking like a leaf, and I felt 10000% horrible. We got home, and I went right to bed. Full night of tossing, turning, sweating, shaking, and generally feeling like I want to die. Not to mention feeling like a total freak for not being able to control my body, when all that was given to me was “just fluids.”

Today I was writing myself a little note about what happened, so I can be sure to tell my OBGYN what exactly happened. I was looking up the correct spelling for Reglan online (the nausea med they gave me that I said I didn’t need), and surprise surprise!
“Reglan can cause severe reactions such as uncontrollable tremors (that may be irreversible), fever, confusion, sweating, and rapid heartbeat.” The list goes on, but those particular reactions obviously hit-home.

So thank you hospital, for not only NOT making me feel better, but for being rude, scaring me, poisoning me, and making me believe I was crazy. It was truly a bitchin’ Saturday night.